A DJ's Guide Neo-Tango Recordings

by Stephen Brown
A brief guide to some neo-tango CDs for the DJ playing music for tango dancers
who would enjoy dancing to something new and different.

Until the past few years, nearly all of the music played at milongas
was taken from recordings made by the golden age orchestras. In addition,
many contemporary tango orchestras have filled out their repetoire with
compositions from the golden era. In the 21st century, however, we
have different social venues, newer technologies, some different musical
instruments, and continuing musical evolution. All of these developments
have inspired some of today's musicians to develop new approaches to tango.
At the same time, dancers are looking for new expression.

At some of the milongas in Buenos Aires, Europe and North America, the
DJs have added neo-tango music to their playlists of traditional tango
music. Neo-tango consists of two genres of music: tango-fusion and
"alternative" tango music. Tango fusion integerates traditional tango
rhythms and instrumentation with other musical traditions, contemporary
instruments and electronica to create a modern and culturally relevant
world tango music with a dance-club sound. Some of the better-known
tango-fusion artists are Gotan Project, Bajofondo Tango Club, and Carlos
Libedinsky. Alternative tango music is tango music from other traditions
or non-tango music that some dancers find interesting for dancing Argentine
tango steps.

Some Tango-Fusion Recordings

Carlos Libedinsky — Narcotango
Of the currently available tango-fusion recordings, my friend Brian
Dunn of Boulder, Colorado points out that Libedinsky's Narcotango
has the strongest tango sensibilities. Afficionados of tango fusion
are likely to find all the tracks on Narcotango to be suitable for
social dancing, but "Vi Luz y Subi" and "Otra Luna" are beautiful and have
the strongest tango sound. "Plano Sequenco" and "Trancetango" also
work fairly well, but the underlying tango sound is a little farther down
in the mix.

Gotan Project — La Revancha del Tango
This ensemble integrates Argentine tango with a Parisian house-music
sensibility to create a sound that was fresh if played sufficiently sparingly.
Once regarded as containing the best tango-fusion music available, the
CD was played frequently at many milongas, and some dancers have grown
tired of it. Less traditionally minded dancers regard all the tracks
to be suitable for dancing, but "Queremos Paz," "Una Musica Brutal" and
"Epoca" stand out as the best.

Gotan Project Remixed
The remix may be the answer for those who have grown tired of the original
Gotan Project release. For this project, some of the tracks from
previous album were radically remixed and some new remixes have been added.
The new tracks have been repackaged with La Revancha del Tango as
a 'bonus' disk.

Gotan Project — Inspiracion-Expiracion
A disappointment after such a long wait for a new CD from Gotan Project,
Inspiracion-Expiracion
is no more than a dj remix that uses previously released Gotan Project
tracks and tracks by non-tango artists. Not much is of interest for
tango dancing.

Gotan Project — Lunatico
A new effort that succeeds better than Inspiracion-Expiracion, but
the sound is no longer as revolutionary as when the first Gotan Project
CD was released.

Bajofondo Tango Club
This Argentine/Uruguayan ensemble plays dance-club music with some
tango rhythm. The combination does more to freshen the dance club
sound than it does to freshen tango. Less traditionally minded dancers
consider all of the tracks suitable for dancing Argentine tango, but "En
Mi/Soloedad" stands out as the having the strongest tango sound.
"Naranjo en Flor" also works fairly well as a slow milonga, but I prefer
the remixed version found on the Leçons de Tango CD.
On the other pieces, many dancers might find that the dance-club layers
are too strong.

Bajofondo Tango Club — Supervielle
With their second release, Bajofondo creates a more sophisticated downtempo/lounge
sound. A few tracks are remixes of the old with completely new elements
including hip hop and milonga. "Perfume," "Pulso," "Air Concret"
and "Centroja" are among my favorite tracks for tango dancing. On
his now defunct Tangonauts webpage, Santiago Steele recommended "Decollage,"
"Perfume (Remix)," "Leonel," "El Feo" and "Tangodrome" as the best tracks.
Combined, the two lists suggest a disc with a lot of good material.

Electrocutango — Felino
Norwegian composer Sverre Indris Joner has assembled a collection of
original electronic music and has remixes some old tango. For dancing,
the most interesting track is "Felino."

Otros Aires — Otros Aires
Some original compositions and classic tangos and milongas that have
been layered with non-traditional elements and electronica. Many
of the tracks work well, but sound very much like each other. Milonga
Sentimental is the stand out track.

Tanghetto — Emigrante
Emmigrante adds a nocturnal jazz/lounge element to the club-tango sound
of Bajofondo. The tracks all sound similar and only a few work well
for tango dancing. "Una Llamada" and "Inmigrante" are strong enough
to make the CD essential for most DJs or anyone else building a collection
of tango-fusion music.

Hybrid Tango — Hybrid Tango
Hybrid Tango mixes bandoneon, piano and spanish guitar with a driving
electronic beat to create a sound similar to Tangoghetto and Bajofondo.
The best track is "Más De Lo Mismo."

Leçons de Tango by Aubade
This CD, issued by the French lingerie company Aubade, is collection
of tango-fusion tracks from Astor Piazzolla Remixed, new remixes
of tracks from Bajofondo Tango Club and unadorned tangos by performers
such as El Arranque, Roberto Goyeneche and Astor Piazzolla. Of particular
interest are "El Tango" and "Naranjo en Flor."

Tango Project (Jaime Wilensky) — Volume II New Tango
Wilensky combines electronica with tango to create music that covers
the ground from tango to lounge to elevator music. On this release,
my favorite tracks are "Sentimientos" and "Buddy." Some of the tracks
have been released on other Wilensky CDs.

Astor Piazzolla Remixed
Inspired by the success of the Gotan Project, the tracks on this CD
overdub club-style electronica on original tracks of Piazzolla's fusion
of tango, jazz and classical music. Although interesting conceptually,
the result isn't inspiring for tango dancing — perhaps because the music
lacks strong tango dance rhythms. As is the case for much of Piazzolla's
recordings, the underlying tango music lacks strong dance rhythms, and the
layer of electronica doesn't add tango rhythms. "El Tango" and "Luna"
work the best.

Electronic Tango
The music on this CD is a departure from dance-club sensibilities of
Gotan Project and Bajofondo toward the avant garde electronica of groups
like Amon Tobin and Aphex Twin. The music on the CD is quite difficult
for dancing, but it is tango with a new sound. The most interesting
tracks are "Torpedo" by Appart, "Tango" by Ruben Steiner and "Libertango"
by Zumo Real.

Astornautas — Ultratango
Not much stands out on this electronica meets Piazzolla CD. I
like "CiteTango," and it seems to work well at milongas.

Juan Carlos Caceres — Toca Tango
Juan Carlos Caceres has a wonderful, deep singing voice and plays piano
with jazz voicings and a perfect rhythmic touch. He is recorded here
with a decidedly non-traditional ensemble, but little of the electronica
that is found on most tango-fusion recordings. The result is tango
and candombes that have overtones of cabaret, jazz, dance club and theatrical
music. The tangos are decidedly slow, but a few of them may be the
perfect change of pace late at night. Two of the candombes—"Tango
Negro" and "Toca Tango"—are absolutely stunning.

Moulin Rouge (Soundtrack)
The movie spectacular Moulin Rouge contains one tango, "El Tango de
Roxanne" which some dancers may find fun for dancing on occasion.
Recorded for the movie, this tango combines the rock classic "Roxanne"
with a tango written by Mariano Mores.